Defending their turf: Broncos survive weather, Ravens

DENVER (AP) -- If being disrespected means Champ Bailey gets more
lob passes thrown his way in the end zone, then the Denver Broncos
won't complain anymore about their dominant defense being dissed.

How far can they go?

McNair

The Broncos beat the Ravens on Monday night in a battle of two of the league's top teams. But of the NFL's elite, Denver and Baltimore have two of the worst quarterbacks. Here's a look at the top teams and how their QBs stack up:

TEAM

REC

QB

RTG

RNK

1

Bears

5-0

Grossman

100.9

4

2

Colts

5-0

P. Manning

95.6

7

3

Eagles

4-1

D. McNabb

107.2

3

4

Patriots

4-1

T. Brady

82.6

14

5

Rams

4-1

M. Bulger

97.2

5

6

Ravens

4-1

S. McNair

67.0

27

7

Saints

4-1

D. Brees

91.6

9

8

Bengals

3-1

C. Palmer

88.8

12

9

Broncos

3-1

J. Plummer

60.9

28

10

Chargers

3-1

P. Rivers

94.5

8

11

Falcons

3-1

M. Vick

69.8

24

12

Seahawks

3-1

Hasselbeck

74.6

23

The Broncos (3-1) intercepted three of Steve McNair's passes --
including a leaping end-zone pick by Bailey just before halftime --
to hand the Ravens (4-1) their first loss with a 13-3 win on Monday
night.

Bailey was as surprised as anyone that McNair went after him
with a lob pass to wide receiver Clarence Moore in the right
corner.

"A little," Bailey said with a smile. "And they paid for
it."

All Baltimore coach Brian Billick had to say about the
ill-advised call that loomed so large on a cold and rainy night
was: "That play was one of the options we had and it didn't turn
out for us."

Scouts Inc.'s take ...

There is no question the Ravens' defense is great, but on this Monday night Denver's defense was better. Denver forced three Steve McNair interceptions, the last coming late in the game on an excellent defensive play-call where the Broncos dropped a defensive lineman into coverage. Denver's defense has allowed only one TD in four games.

The weather was not very good and that in itself stifled both passing offenses. At the end of the day, Denver and RB Tatum Bell (above) controlled the play on the ground and came up with more explosive plays to seal the deal.

Denver defensive coordinator Larry Coyer was glad to see
somebody finally challenge his perennial Pro Bowl cornerback: "I
was glad to see them throw one at him. That'll work for me, yeah.
Yeah. Yeah."

A cold rain and two stingy defenses turned the Baltimore-Denver
showdown into a kicking competition for much of the night, and
Jason Elam bested Matt Stover with two long field goals.

But with a 6-3 lead and 1:55 left in the game, Denver put the
kick-fest to rest. Deep in Ravens territory, Denver took a chance
at the end zone, icing the game on Jake Plummer's 4-yard touchdown
pass to Rod Smith. It was Smith's first touchdown this season and
also the first TD the Ravens have surrendered in a second half this
year.

"We stuck together tonight," Plummer said. "It was ugly, ugly
for a while, but in the end we came and put together some drives
when it counted."

Elias Says

Jake Plummer now has a career record of 65-64 in his NFL starts, as he has battled his way back from, at one point, a record that stood at 22 games below the .500 mark. He stood at 30-52 after completing his six seasons with the Cardinals; he's 35-12 since coming to the Broncos in 2003.

The last two quarterbacks who went as far into their NFL careers before first sniffing the above-.500 air both wound up in the Hall of Fame. Warren Moon first moved above .500 in his 139th NFL start, and it took Fran Tarkenton 195 starts until he moved above .500 for the first time.

The touchdown was set up by Darrent Williams' interception at
midfield with 6:47 left and Tatum Bell's 12-yard gain on
third-and-10 from the 17 in which he carried linebacker Ray Lewis
for the final 5 yards.

"It wasn't a big deal," Bell said, "but it was a big deal
because it was Ray."

Elam connected from 43 and 44 yards, the second one breaking a
3-3 tie with eight minutes remaining and capping a drive that was
set up by Sam Koch's 10-yard punt.

Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce, who was quiet all week about
his return to Denver -- which dumped him and his $10 million salary
in the offseason -- was even quieter Monday night, assisting on just
one tackle.

"The loss hurts, but I don't really care who it is against,"
Pryce said. "They are just another football team. The thing is,
they are a great football team. They always have been, they were
before I got there and they are now that I'm gone."

The teams were tied 3-3 at halftime, and the rain only got
heavier during a scoreless third quarter in which the Ravens
avoided a big momentum-shifter when center Mike Flynn smothered
McNair's fumble at the Baltimore 12.

Flynn saved the touchdown after McNair's third interception, by
Domonique Foxworth in the final minute while safety John Lynch
(neck) was on the sideline.

The Ravens and the rain combined to limit Denver to 9 yards of
offense in the first quarter, tying a franchise low since Mike
Shanahan became the Broncos coach in 1995.

The Broncos turned the ball over on their first two possessions.

Denver's first turnover resulted in a 24-yard field goal by
Stover that gave Baltimore a 3-0 lead. It followed cornerback Chris
McAlister's nifty tightrope walk along the right sideline after he
gathered the loose ball that Terrell Suggs punched out of Bell's
hands.

Plummer, wearing a glove on his throwing hand to get a better
grip, wildly overthrew Walker on the Broncos' next possession and
cornerback Samari Rolle hauled in the long pass at the Baltimore
34.

The Broncos tied it at 3 on Elam's 43-yarder following Williams'
33-yard punt return to the Baltimore 42. It was the second big
return by Williams, who ranked dead last in the NFL going into the
game with an average of less than a yard per punt return.

The Ravens were driving for the go-ahead score just before
halftime when Bailey intercepted McNair's lob pass with 30 seconds
left.

"It's always the difference in the game: that red zone,"
Shanahan said. "What were they, one for two? ... Kept them from
getting a field goal, kept them from getting a touchdown.
Obviously, that was a big play at the time."

It was a bit of instant redemption for Bailey, who had just been
burned for a 26-yard gain on third-and-7 when he appeared to bite
on a fake by McNair and Derrick Mason zipped past him and hauled in
the pass along the right sideline. Safety Nick Ferguson saved the
touchdown by knocking Mason out of bounds at the 11.

"We heard all the hype about them," Bailey said. "We've got a
good defense, too, and I think we proved that tonight."

Game NotesPlummer is 65-64 as a starter in the regular season and
is above .500 for the first time in his 10-year career. ...
Williams had two more big returns nullified by holding calls on
Foxworth and Curome Cox.